An Unforgettable Summer (Good Guys Don't Date Bad Boys Bonus Story, Patreon Exclusive) - Ch. 3 (Patreon)

Chapter One / Chapter Two 

Chapter Three – Good Boys

“Are you really sure?” Jonathan stared at Maddox with curious eyes.

Like he would give in under that scrutiny. Maddox yawned for show and then gave his boyfriend a disappointed look. “Don’t tell me you want us to be in bed by nine. We’re on vacation or something.”

Jonathan smiled, all-knowingly, and turned to face the mirror as he continued his routine of brushing his hair to perfection. Not a single hair out of place. Maddox snuck behind him and ran one hand through Jonathan’s hair, from back to front, turning it into a tousled mess in less than a second.

The affronted look that met his gaze was enough to give him satisfaction. Yeah, he hadn’t been exactly himself, getting jealous of Damianos earlier, but that didn’t mean he didn’t know how to get the upper hand. After all, Jonathan had to like champions, and Maddox was one, without a trace of a doubt.

“Now I need to do it again,” Jonathan complained.

“Why don’t you leave it like this? You don’t trust my hairdresser instincts?”

“Hairdresser? Are you considering a different career?” Jonathan brushed his hair with a vengeance, giving himself a hard look in the bathroom mirror. “With hair like that, I’d look like I just got out of bed.”

“My point exactly,” Maddox replied brightly. He would show those boys who Jonathan preferred.

“Some might consider it an invitation of some sort,” Jonathan said, as another smile quirked his lips. “An invitation to intimate interactions,” he added, and his voice dropped low and husky.

Although it was meant as a joke, Maddox felt Jonathan’s voice going straight to his crotch. Damn it, he needed to keep it in his pants, so to speak, until they reached the party, or parties, or whatever.

“You don’t have to prove anything,” Jonathan eventually said, as the silence stretched, with Maddox lost in his ruminations.

“Maybe. But I’d like to. You know, this vacation is also about showing off that we’re together.”

“Good point.” A perfectly coiffed Jonathan turned to kiss him.

Maddox closed his eyes and almost gave in to the temptation. He could have a little taste. Hmm, maybe two. Jonathan didn’t mind it at all, sneaking his sweet tongue in and giving Maddox a proper and instant hard-on.

“Are you sure,” Jonathan asked in a heated voice, “that you don’t want to bend me over the sink right here, and give it to me?”

“Fuck,” Maddox whispered, but willed his hands to remain on Jonathan’s waist, and not one inch lower. “Let’s go to the party.”

He turned on his heel so that he could grab his cock through his jeans and will it to behave. Jonathan embraced him from behind and kissed him loudly on the cheek. “If that is what you want. The bending over the sink offer stands till midnight,” he teased.

“Make it after midnight, and we have a deal,” Maddox haggled.

“All right,” Jonathan agreed quickly. “You know I’m not in the habit of ever telling you ‘no’.”

That was why Jonathan was the best boyfriend in the world, or, at least, one of the reasons.

***

It was funny that people were more dressed now than during the day, mainly because Maddox had expected to find everyone naked, as they had been on the beach earlier. Not that anyone was overdressed, but it looked like some wanted to display a bit of style for the beach parties, while others showed skin in titillating ways. A couple passed by them, the slenderer of the two wearing nothing but a neon blue thong that drew quite a lot of attention.

“Do you think I could pull that off?” Maddox whispered to Jonathan.

“You could pull off rags and make them fashionable,” Jonathan assured him.

They were dressed in jeans and tank tops, but they seemed like the only ones opting to cover that much of their bodies. Maddox shrugged. He didn’t care about being like the rest, so the fact that they were rocking that look was a plus in their favor, in his book.

The appreciative looks thrown in their direction assured him that they weren’t anything to scoff at. Jonathan snuck one arm around his shoulders and, maybe it was just his imagination, but Maddox could swear that the way his boyfriend was holding him felt mighty possessive.

“Maddox, Jonathan,” Damianos welcomed them with open arms, while Theo lagged behind him.

“There you are,” Maddox replied and smiled, showing his teeth. “I didn’t quite recognize you with clothes on.”

Damianos had a light beach shirt barely covering his torso, as it was opened in front to let his hairy chest show, something that he had to be very proud of. He wore stylish knee-length shorts and was barefoot. Theo wore a skimpy pair of speedos that made his pert butt look even pertier. Maddox didn’t know why he was noticing all these details, but his eyes lingered on Theo’s slender body for a moment more than he intended. For fuck’s sake, he had seen the guy naked.

“Let’s have a drink,” Damianos invited them and then hooked his arm over Theo’s shoulders.

Maddox didn’t miss the intent look Theo threw at him as they followed. What was his deal, anyway?

***

Theo had one leg thrown over Damianos’s thigh and was rubbing slowly against him while whispering something in his ear. It looked like people were progressing from making small talk and drinking to something that Maddox didn’t know how to describe. They were at a comfortable distance from the rest, and it wasn’t easy for others to spot what they were doing.

“Is this going to turn into an orgy or something?” he asked Jonathan.

“We can always go back,” Jonathan suggested. “I doubt anyone’s going to notice.”

Maddox pondered for a moment. Yes, he could call it a day and take Jonathan up on his offer to bend him over the bathroom sink, but he was there to prove something, mostly to himself.

Theo straddled Damianos and began moving against him, letting out soft gasps. What unnerved Maddox to no end was how Theo was looking at him from time to time, challenging him somehow.

He could ask Jonathan what he thought of how Damianos’s boyfriend acted, but he didn’t want to sound like he was interested or anything. Still, his eyes were drawn to those two guys and what they were doing. Damianos didn’t shy away from grabbing his boyfriend’s tight ass with both hands and giving it a good working over while kissing him loudly.

“Want join us?” Theo drawled in clumsy English and stared at Maddox openly. In the light of the setting sun, he looked like his skin was golden, and his hair like spun silk of the same color.

Maddox swallowed hard and looked away. Jonathan squeezed his shoulder in reassurance.

“We’re more of the private kind,” Jonathan explained.

“And Maddox is a jealous boyfriend,” Damianos commented. “Much like a Greek.”

“You don’t look too jealous to me,” Maddox replied in kind.

Damianos chuckled. “How do I look to you?” he asked, the challenge in his eyes too clear to ignore.

Maddox scoffed and looked away.

“It’s all right,” Damianos added. “But don’t mind us if we’re not the private kind.” He rolled Theo on his back and pulled at his skimpy speedos to get to the skin underneath. Theo began letting out elaborate breaths, as Damianos kissed his neck, biting it from time to time, alternating between playful and hard. It looked like he knew exactly what strings to play on, because Theo’s lips parted to sing a harmony familiar to both of them.

“We don’t mind if you two watch,” Damianos said. After a short laugh, he added, “Actually, we’d love if you did.”

Maddox’s head snapped in the couple’s direction. “You think you’re hot stuff, don’t you?”

Jonathan bit hard on his ear, making him yelp. “Be nice, Maddox.”

“It looks like a certain someone wears the pants in your family,” Damianos taunted him.

Maddox knew enough to know that Damianos didn’t intend to insult him but found it amusing to play with him. His cock was hard, and his mind didn’t care much for rational stuff, however. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Your boyfriend,” Damianos replied, “is not only beautiful and elegant, he’s also very smart. A real man through and through.”

Maddox jumped to his feet. If this was a game, he knew how to play it. He got rid of his jeans in record time, along with his sneakers, as well as his underwear. He grabbed hold of his cock. “What about this? Do you think it belongs to a real man?”

Damianos’s eyes crinkled at the corners. Theo was staring at Maddox’s junk with hunger in his eyes.

“We should see it in action,” Damianos suggested and turned Theo by the chin so that they could kiss again.

“You’ve never seen action like that,” Jonathan intervened, much to Maddox’s surprise.

He was even more surprised when his boyfriend took him in his mouth and swallowed his cock to the hilt. He rested one hand on Jonathan’s head to catch his balance more than to assert some sort of dominance.

“I want, too,” Theo breathed out, pleadingly.

Damianos laughed and whispered something in their native tongue to his boyfriend.

“Why don’t you give it to your boyfriend? Do you want to hear him beg?” Maddox asked, out of curiosity more than anything else.

“You don’t quite understand what he wants,” Damianos said.

“Is it something kinky?” Maddox ventured to ask. He let out a gasp as Jonathan licked the underside and moved his tongue at a languorous pace along his shaft.

“Maybe for you,” Damianos said. “My beautiful star here,” he added and kissed Theo’s lips hard, “is in the mood for your American sausage.”

Maddox wished he had been prepared for that. His cock twitched suddenly, taking Jonathan by surprise who let out a small choking sound. Jonathan recovered quickly, but Maddox couldn’t say the same about himself. “I thought,” he muttered under his breath while he caressed Jonathan’s head, “you wanted to fuck my boyfriend.”

“It’s tit for tat, my friend,” Damianos teased him.

“I don’t think you know what that means,” Maddox grunted as Jonathan went at sucking his cock with renewed strength after the little mishap earlier.

“Oh, I do know very well. I am a very jealous Greek boyfriend, Maddox,” he said. “So I should inflict the same upon you if you want to fuck my Theo.”

That was quite different from what he had imagined. Maddox held Jonathan by the back of the neck, barely keeping from ramming his cock in. “I’m sorry,” he breathed out, “but I have to say ‘no’. My boyfriend wouldn’t approve.”

“I can see that. His favorite toy, right?” Damianos said and laughed. “Then watch me fuck some sense into my pretty lover with wandering eyes.”

Maddox didn’t protest, but looked down, hoping to see Jonathan’s eyes. The acquiescing flutter of those curly eyelashes assured him that it was all right. So, he watched as Damianos turned Theo, pulled down his speedos, and after opening him gently with deft fingers and lube he had produced from his shorts, and a lot of soft encouragements, drove into him with his entire length.

With Jonathan filling his dreams at night, and even wide awake, Maddox had to admit that he was pretty much a virgin in regards to watching other dudes going at it. He hadn’t even looked at porn, and this was the real deal, so he couldn’t tear his eyes away. Damianos was moving slowly, then, as Theo’s strangled soft cries urged him, began to go faster, only to slow down as he brought his lover to the brink.

Jonathan seemed to be having his fun, too, because he was making a full-course meal out of sucking his cock. Maddox continued to watch, still feeling half-guilty, but Jonathan’s enthusiasm in his efforts to get him off told him that he didn’t have to be. He came with a groan and looked at his boyfriend’s face, all ecstatic while taking in the cum that had to be filling his mouth nicely right now.

He helped Jonathan to his feet and began kissing him.

“You two are so hot,” Damianos grunted as he drove into his lover’s tiny butt with increased intensity.

“So are you,” Maddox replied, but he was no longer looking at them, but at Jonathan who smiled at the inside joke only the two of them shared.

***

Jonathan snickered while looking at Maddox who now had his usual confident strut as they were walking back to the hotel. “So, it was actually Theo who wanted you,” he said.

Maddox shrugged like such details weren’t too important to begin with. “Not like I would have gotten with him or anything.”

“Good,” Jonathan said with an exaggerated sigh. “I thought I would have to end up showing the ugly part of me.”

“What ugly part of you?” Maddox asked.

“You know, the one that would have pushed me to drag Theo by the hair all over the beach and call him a skunk for drooling over my boyfriend.”Maddox burst into laughter. “Don’t you mean skank?”

Jonathan seemed puzzled for a moment. “Hmm, I wouldn’t have called him that.”

Maddox shook his head in mirth. “Right, I don’t think the word skank is even part of your vocabulary.”

“Maybe. But know this, Maddox. I would have been madly jealous if you had said ‘yes’ to their proposal.”

“Show me your best jealous look,” Maddox challenged him.

“Like how?”

Maddox shrugged. “I don’t know. You surely did show me today that I have no reason to feel jealous. Now, if you want me to do the same, show me your jealous side.”

Jonathan laughed and looked away. “You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?”

“Totally. For real, babe, show me that you’re jealous once in a while. It makes me feel a lot less like a prick for wanting you all to myself.”

“That’s the deal. I’m yours, and you’re mine,” Jonathan said simply. “You’re not a prick. And you’re just too adorable when you act jealous, though. When I’m jealous… well, let’s say that my jaw hurts a little. I might have strained it while sucking you off.”

“Yeah, you’re so serious about everything. Sorry I got hard when I looked at them.”

“You don’t have to apologize. We’re visual creatures. It’s natural to get hard while watching two handsome guys fucking like they mean it.”

“Like porn, you mean?” Maddox asked.

Jonathan grinned. “Is there something you want to ask me, Maddox?”

“Maybe.”

“So ask.”

“I don’t want to. Maybe you’ll get too jealous.”

“We can watch porn together, Maddox,” Jonathan said. “It’s no big deal. Hey, if it makes you feel better, you can watch it on your own, and you know, trade notes with me later.”

“I’ll wait some more for that. I might get jealous over guys in porn movies,” Maddox said with an apologetic shrug. “And I cannot exactly show them the finger like we did with those guys on the beach just now.”

“Was that your finger?” Jonathan asked, feigning innocence.

Maddox giggled and grabbed him for a short kiss. “I think it’s my turn to fuck you out of your mind, babe.”

“Then we should hurry. Unlike you, I endured this whole sexy adventure without taking it out of my pants.”

“We totally need to remedy that,” Maddox promised. “Let’s just walk faster, okay?”

***

“Are you two coming down with something?”

Maddox didn’t have time to wave off his mom’s hand as she touched his forehead. “We’re just jetlagged, is all,” he protested meekly.

Jonathan was slouching in his chair, as well, and at Maddox’s mom’s words, he made an effort to straighten up. They both knew what they had been up to all night, but it wasn’t a good idea to let their parents in on the way they had been passing time since they had arrived in Greece.

“Young people today,” his mom said with a shake of the head. “We’re a lot older than you, and we surely don’t look as shipwrecked as you two.”

“Leave the boys alone, Flo,” his dad hurried to the rescue. “Obviously, they partied all night and only slept for a few hours.”

“Thanks, dad, really,” Maddox let out with a groan. “And we were out all day yesterday, visiting--”

“Ruins,” Jonathan added brightly, when Maddox failed to produce the right word in time.

“Ruins?” It was Jonathan’s mom quirking an eyebrow in question now. “You’re basically stepping on them here, everywhere you look. I doubt you needed to travel far to do so.”

“We were very thorough,” Jonathan assured her. “One cannot be that fast when it comes to ancient Greek deities.”

“Deities, right,” Maddox added for good measure.

His mom pursed her lips as if she was about to add something, but that moment Francine began talking. “Too bad you two decided not to come with us to Paris. The weather was beautiful.”

“We visited the Louvre,” Maddox’s mom interjected. “And we had the most amazing croissants.”

“Good thing we didn’t stay long,” his dad added. “What, dear?” he addressed his better half. “All that leisure lifestyle might go to our heads. We wouldn’t be a good fit for our fast way of life when we go back.”

“Fast way of life? Did you guys take up some extreme sports?” Maddox asked.

His joke was enough to make his parents’ small quarrel end as fast as it started.

“It’s a wonderful vacation,” Maddox’s dad said courteously.

“We’re happy you’re having fun,” Jonathan’s dad replied in kind. “David, would you mind joining me out on the balcony for a smoke?”

Ah, damn. The dads were bailing out. Maddox’s dad didn’t smoke, and Jonathan had told him that his dad rarely did. Their ears were going to get so red, once the moms were done with them. They had to suspect something, especially since they hadn’t commented – yet – on the fact that he and Jonathan were sharing a room.

“What are your plans for the rest of your summer break?” Francine was the one to break the silence.

“Maddox will have to work,” Jonathan explained. “And I intend to join him.”

Maddox could tell by the exchange between Jonathan and his mom that there was a challenge in there, somewhere. He doubted the Hamiltons were too at ease with the idea that their offspring didn’t mind getting his hands dirty, not even figuratively, and was working so that he could afford his college tuition. As they had been too busy with other things, they hadn’t spoken about where things stood between Jonathan and his parents when it came down to the nitty-gritty details of their son’s decision to continue going to Sunny Hill.

“You know that it wouldn’t be a problem--” Francine started.

“Mom,” Jonathan said, a bit forcefully, “thank you, but we can handle it. But we’re happy with this trip and, of course, everything else you want to spoil us with.”

This quick turn of phrase seemed to appease Francine. She smiled and took a sip from her coffee, while eyeing them both shrewdly over the rim of her cup. “Spoil, you say, child? There are certain obligations. Before you try to wiggle your way out of it, the answer is ‘no’.”

“I don’t mind going along with any obligations you have in mind for me, as long as they don’t interfere too much with other plans I make with Maddox.”

“These obligations concern both of you. Flo, a little help,” Francine added with another secretive smile.

Oh, no, Maddox thought. Those two were in cahoots.

“Maddox is a good boy,” his mom said with a pleased smile of her own. “Jonathan’s parents believe that it would be a good idea to use a few occasions to introduce you to their friends. Seeing how you appeared quite bent on announcing your engagement to Jonathan when you visited on Christmas.”

Ah, hell. There was no way out, and apparently, in Jonathan’s parents’ world, it mattered that he was presented as the official suitor or something. Was that a reason for him to start getting worried? The Hamiltons’ world had to be populated with snotty people, the kind who knew how to use a thousand types of forks and eat snails or something—

“Maddox?” His mom pulled him out of his mental torture for the time being. “Do you want the engagement party to be this summer or not?”

There were three pairs of eyes on him, and Jonathan seemed the most surprised of all.

“Engagement party?” he mumbled.

“You’re not taking it back,” his mom said in a tone that brooked no contradiction. “I hope.”

“Never,” he said fiercely.

That earned him a subdued snicker from Jonathan.

“Look, I know you’re getting all worked up over this, but it’s our engagement,” Jonathan rushed to the rescue. “So, we would like to celebrate it with our friends.”

“Of course,” Francine acquiesced with a slight nod of the head. “But we will have you and Maddox attend several events where you can be introduced as an official couple.”

“One event,” Jonathan insisted.

“At least two,” Francine offered. “My last word, Jonathan, don’t haggle.”

Jonathan threw Maddox an apologetic look.

“I can handle that,” Maddox said and puffed out his chest, displaying more confidence than he felt. He would so need to ask Jonathan to teach him how to behave in high society or something. By how his own mom’s eyes were shining, she was totally on board with all that, and it was no use for him to search for help in that part of the universe.

“Any ideas on this engagement party that you want to organize yourself?” Francine asked. “I hope at least you’ll agree to use our home for it. And allow us to have a few guests.”

“What do you think?” Jonathan asked him directly.

“Yeah, totally. My friends will totally go bonkers over Asta and the other horses.” Maddox stopped abruptly. He shouldn’t use words like ‘bonkers’ in the presence of his mother-in-law. “I mean, they’ll stay away from them if that scares them or something.”

“I’ll be in charge of entertaining everyone,” Jonathan assured him. “And Asta likes being spoiled.”

“Rusty might want to ride her. Or some other horse,” Maddox pointed out.

“That boy is quite the character,” Francine commented. “I miss him.”

“He is an amazing boy,” Maddox’s mom added. “A pity about his family.” She shook her head and her eyes turned sad.

“I’m sure he’ll make his own future,” Francine said with determination.

Good, the eye of Sauron was slowly moving away from them. Maddox leaned toward Jonathan. “Did you know anything about an engagement party this summer?” he whispered, while Francine and his mom began chatting happily about one thing or another.

“No, not until they told us earlier. You stood there, nodding thoughtfully, so I thought you were okay with it,” Jonathan whispered back. “We’ll find a way out of it, don’t worry.”

“No way. I totally want an engagement party,” Maddox said, this time, too loudly.

“Everyone heard you the first time, pumpkin,” his mom chided him.

Jonathan took his hand. “We’re going to keep our dads company a little, if you don’t mind.”

“Go ahead. They must already be planning some wine tour that they hope to spring on us at the last minute,” Francine said.

“Wine tour?” Jonathan asked. “Didn’t you already have enough of that in France?”

“The day after tomorrow, we’re heading straight to Lake Como,” Francine replied. “I expect our husbands to be just as much in the mood for tasting the local wines as they were in France.”

“Right,” Jonathan said while smiling pleasantly. “We might get away for pizza, though,” he warned.

“Pizza,” Francine commented and rolled her eyes. “Fine. Seeing how you’re such good boys, I suppose we can allow you to run around, eating junk food.”

“Pizza is not junk food,” Jonathan argued.

“A big fan, are you, now?” Francine countered.

“You should try it,” Jonathan said with an impish smile.

“Maybe I will,” Francine replied.

Maddox was more than happy for the save as they stepped out on the balcony.

“Look at them. They survived,” his dad said to Jonathan’s father, the moment he noticed them. “How was the ordeal?”

George, Jonathan’s dad, was not the kind to talk a lot, so he was just inspecting them with keen eyes, whether for signs of the battle of wits he must have imagined taking place between them and their moms or some other reason. Maddox had to admit that his father-in-law was quite intimidating. Not that Francine wasn’t, but there was some volcanic personality underneath that perfect façade that he knew how to deal with. Also, she had already been more familiar with him, but the same thing could not be said about George. For Jonathan’s sake, Maddox hoped that his future father-in-law didn’t hate his guts or anything like that. Also, that was for his sake, as well.

“The engagement party will take place at the end of the summer. I hope you don’t mind if we invite our friends to stay with us for a while,” Jonathan said.

His dad nodded. “They’re welcome.”

“They might scare the horses,” Maddox blurted out nervously.

George gave him a pensive look. “I don’t think the horses at the estate are so easy to scare. By your friends, you mean that boy, Rusty, as well?”

“Yes,” Jonathan replied. “Is there a problem?”

George smiled like he knew something others didn’t. “For him, maybe. Francine hasn’t forgotten that he has yet to see that vocal coach.”

“We will have to assure him that mom is not going to want his head on a stick, then,” Jonathan replied and laughed. “No party would be the same without him.”

“Especially an engagement party,” Maddox hurried to say, only so that he didn’t leave his boyfriend to carry the entire conversation.

“Care to show me a good place to have some real seafood around here, son?” his dad asked and gave him a serious look.

Maddox understood that much. The dads also wanted to talk to them, but each to their own offspring. Now that was a different kind of test, especially for Jonathan. He didn’t worry about his dad.

***

Jonathan rested his forearms on the balustrade, waiting for his dad to speak.

“You should prepare Maddox,” his dad finally began.

“He’s not going to embarrass us or anything,” Jonathan replied, feeling unruly and ready to fight.

“That is not why I’m telling you this.” His dad’s deep sigh told him that he was missing the mark here.

“Then why?”

“It will not be easy for him, to face people who are quick to pass judgement. You need to make him understand that he shouldn’t allow anything to get to him. And by that, I truly mean anything.”

Jonathan nodded. In all honesty, he only wanted Maddox to be himself. “Why do the whole thing? Why does mom want us to be introduced as a couple, as she says? Does she – and you – care so much about what other people say? Your people?”

“You’re mistaken, Jonathan. What she plans, by showing you together at these functions, is not for the sake of others, or us, for that matter. Do you want Maddox, or his parents, who are really good people, to open some gossip rag and read untrue things about their son? In this world, if you are in the spotlight, whether you like it or not, you must control the narrative.”

“By telling the truth, I hope,” Jonathan said.

“Of course. Maddox cannot embarrass us. He’s not some dirty secret we want to hide. That’s what we want to prevent by pushing you two out into the world, so that people can see you for who you truly are. A real couple. Whatever rough edges Maddox might have, I know you’ll help him smooth them out.”

Jonathan was still in the mood to argue, but it was hard to find fault with his dad’s reasoning. No, he had no reason to hide Maddox, and surely didn’t want to give anyone reasons to think that he didn’t want to be seen with his boyfriend. The novelty might be a bit shocking, at first, but it would wear off, like any other thing. “That’s very thoughtful of you two. Have you heard from Drew? I mean, the Kincaids?” He had an inkling that if rumors were expected to fly, there was a chance for them to have roots in someone’s rotten mind. He surely hoped that wasn’t the case, but he wanted to be prepared, nonetheless. And there, his dad was right.

“Only in passing. Apparently, Andrew continues to be regretful of his behavior and wants to be friends with you again.”

“That’s maybe the role he plays in front of his parents. Is he off drugs? Or did he find a way to justify that to them, as well?”

His dad hesitated for a moment. “Rumor has it that they put him in some place where it would be easier for him to get rid of the habit.”

“Some cushy rehab spa, I suppose? Sorry, it’s not really my business. I hope he gets the help he needs.”

“I didn’t pry,” his dad replied. “For what it is worth, Jonathan, I’m truly sorry about alienating you when the scandal broke. We both feared that you might have gotten into the habit, as well.”

“You could have listened to me,” Jonathan said quietly. It was rare that he had a one-on-one conversation with his dad, so maybe it was high time for him to say a few things of his own.

“That’s true,” his dad agreed. “Your mother is right. Andrew Kincaid is not the man for you. At the time, we also feared that someone else might want to take advantage.”

“Take advantage? How?”

“Andrew has everything you have. Status, wealth. We couldn’t accuse him of being a gold digger.”

Jonathan felt his righteous rage growing again. “And Maddox, who doesn’t have--”

“You’re quick to anger these days,” his dad placated him immediately. “Maddox is a decent young man. I’m sure of it. Despite our falling out, I believe that it was quite fortunate that you two met under the circumstances you did. Without prejudice, as they say, getting in the way.”

Jonathan nodded. There was truth in that. Then, a funny thought crossed his mind, so he chuckled without realizing that he was doing it out loud.

“What?” his dad asked him, surprised. “I hope you are taking my words seriously, Jonathan.”

“Sorry, dad.” Jonathan knew that they weren’t the kind of family to embrace or touch much, but this occasion required something more palpable to seal the deal. “I was just thinking that maybe I should thank Drew for throwing me under the bus so that I would meet Maddox later.” As he said that, he moved closer and hugged his dad with one arm. “Thank you for accepting him. And his family.”

His dad smiled and nodded, then hugged him briefly, too. “They’re incredible people. This vacation wouldn’t have been as much fun without them. They have that joy of life, you know? I believe your mom thinks the same. So, thank you, for helping us make new friends, even this late in life.”

“You’re more than welcome. But you should meet his entire family. He is one of seven siblings, you know?”

“And we can barely wait to become acquainted with everyone. It goes without saying that they are all invited to the engagement party. Or, if they want to visit earlier, they’re welcome.”

Jonathan turned to look through the glass doors at his mom who was laughing at something Flo was saying with a huge grin on her face. “I think mother Kingsley will first need to put in the work to gather everyone. Not an easy thing to do with such a huge family. By the way, how are you getting along with Maddox’s dad?”

“We have quite an astonishing number of things in common, especially when it comes to wine. That man could have become a celebrated wine taster in his own right if he didn’t like building things so much. He’s also introducing me to new things. He even has this wild idea of us going to see some sports event in Italy.”

Jonathan had an idea about that but decided to keep his mouth properly shut on the topic. “Glad to hear you’re getting along.”

“You’ll forgive us, I hope, if your mom might make the mistake of embarrassing Maddox’s parents with some gifts. She just cannot help herself, although I warned her.”

“Tell her to wait until she meets all of Maddox’s nieces and nephews. She might be allowed to splurge properly then.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” his dad assured him. “Have you boys had fun on this trip so far?”

“Yes. Thank you for bringing us, dad.”

His dad squeezed his shoulder and gave him a warm smile. “Then we’re glad, son, we’re very glad.”

TBC

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